DOCSLIB.ORG

U. S. Department of the Interior U. S. Geological Survey Field Guide for a Transect of the Central Sierra Nevada, California: Ge

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
U. S. Department of the Interior U. S. Geological Survey Field Guide for a Transect of the Central Sierra Nevada, California: Ge U. S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY FIELD GUIDE FOR A TRANSECT OF THE CENTRAL SIERRA NEVADA, CALIFORNIA: GEOCHRONOLOG Y AND ISOTOPE GEOLOGY by R. W. Kistler1 and R. J. Fleck1 Open-File Report 94-267 This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U. S. Geological Survey editorial standards or with the North American Stratigraphic Code. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U. S. Government. *MS 937,345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 TABLE OF CONTENTS ..........................................................................................Page no. List of Figures........................................................................ 3 List of Tables ......................................................................... 5 Introduction........................................................................... 6 Figure 1............................................................................7 Figure 2............................................................................ 8 Figure 3............................................................................9 ROAD LOG...........................................................................10 DAY 1. Fresno to Courtright Reservoir and Return ............................. 10 Figure 4............................................................................ 11 Figure 5............................................................................ 12 Table 1.............................................................................14 DAY 2. Fresno to Yosemite Valley ................................................ 16 Figure 6............................................................................17 Figure 7............................................................................ 18 Figure 8............................................................................19 Figure 9............................................................................20 Figure 10.......................................................................... 21 Figure 11..........................................................................23 Figure 12..........................................................................24 Table 2.............................................................................25 DAY 3. Yosemite Valley to Mammoth Lakes, California .......................27 Figure 13..........................................................................28 Figure 14.......................................................................... 31 Figure 15.......................................................................... 3 3 Figure 16..........................................................................35 DAY 4. Mammoth Lakes, Mono Craters, and Saddlebag Lake ................ 3 6 Figure 17..........................................................................38 Figure 18..........................................................................40 Figure 19..........................................................................41 Figure20..........................................................................44 Figure 21..........................................................................46 DAY 5. Mammoth Lakes to Berkeley, CA........................................ 47 References Cited......................................................................47 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Map of the Sierra Nevada showing the age distribution of plutonic rocks. The solid black pattern is for ophiolites in the western Sierra Nevada. Huton ages: UK, Late Cretaceous (92- 77 Ma); LK, Early Cretaceous (123-100 Ma); JK, Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous (152-127 Ma); J, Middle Jurassic (180-165 Ma); Triassic (240-200 Ma). Figure 2. Outline map of California and Nevada showing the initial 87Sr/86Sr=0.706 isopleth for plutonic rocks in the region. Fades boundaries: belt of Permian rugose corals (P); Silurian shelf- slope break (S); belt of thickest Lower Mississippian foreland clastic deposits (M). Figure is modified from Kistler (1990). Figure 3. Outline map of granitoid exposures in the composite Sierra Nevada batholith (modified from Kistler, Chappell, Peck, and Bateman, 1986). The Tuolumne Intrusive Suite is one of five compositionally zoned plutons of Late Cretaceous age (93 to 77 Ma) mat crop out along the crest of the Sierra Nevada. The youngest porphyritic fades of each suite is shown in a stippled pattern. The initial 87Sr/86Sr values for these porphyritic rocks are indicated on the diagram. Figure 4. Map showing distribution of rock units in the Academy pluton (modified from Mack and others, 1979). Map units: Qal, unconsolidated Quaternary deposits; Qd-Tu, undifferentiated quartz diorite and tonalite; Bt, biotite tonalite; T, tonalite; BHQd, biotite-homblende quartz diorite; HyQd, hypersthene quartz diorite; QN, quartz norite; Hg, hornblende gabbro; M, Pre-Cretaceous, undifferentiated metamorphic rocks. The Academy pluton is shaded gray. Figure 5. Map showing the outline of exposures of Mesozoic granitoid rocks in the Sierra Nevada and Inyo- White Mountains, California. The porphyritic central fades of the five zoned-intrusive suites of the Late Cretaceous (92-77 Ma) Cathedral Range intrusive epoch that crop out along the crest of the Sierra Nevada (Evernden and Kistler, 1970; Kistler and others, 1986) are shown in black. Locations of of granitoid rock specimens that have measured initial Sr and Nd isotopic values (Table 1) are shown by numbered dots. The tectonic boundary between North American lithosfjhere (NA) to the east and Panthalassan lithosphere (PAN) to the west is shown as a heavy solid line. Figure 6. Generalized geology of the Fine Gold Intrusive Suite (modified from Bateman, 1992). The locations of field trip stops 2,5, and 6 are shown as numbered dots. Figure 7. Generalized pre-Tertiary geologic map of Mariposa 1° by 2° quadrangle, showing intrusive suites and general distribution of magnetic susceptibility values of the plutonic rocks (modified from Bateman and others, 1991). Figure 8. Generalized geology of the Shaver Intrusive Suite (modified from Bateman, 1992). The locations of field trip stops 3 and 4 are shown by numbered dots. Figure 9. Strontium isochron diagrams for the Mount Givens Granodiorite (A.) and the Dinkey Creek Granodiorite (B.) for samples collected from two different localities in each body. The data of Hill and others (1988) is for a whole-rock and mineral isochron for a sample of the Mount Givens Granodiorite collected near Florence Lake to the north of the Courtright intrusive zone. The data of Dodge and Kistler (1990) for the Mount Givens Granodiorite is from whole-rock hosts, mafic inclusions, and aggregates from samples collected at Courtright intrusive zone. The data for the Dinkey Creek Granodiorite (Dodge and Kistler, 1990) are for whole-rock hosts, mafic inclusions, and aggregates from samples collected from a quarry near the town of Shaver Lake and from exposures near the Wishon Reservoir to the west and south, respectively, of the Courtright intrusive zone. Figure lO.Stronu'um evolution diagram for whole-rock specimens of Bass Lake Tonalite collected along Hwy. 41 to the north of the Coarse Gold roof pendant Variation in magnetic susceptibility iscorrelated with the variation in initial 87Sr/86Sr values of the rocks. Rocks with high susceptibility (magnetite bearing) or low susceptibility (ilmenite bearing) had initial 87Sr/^Sr values greater than or less than 0.7060, respectively. Specimen BL1 is a quartzite at the contact between the intruded metamorphosed sedimentary rocks and the pluton. Figure 11. Generalized geology of the intrusive suite of Yosemite Valley (modified from Bateman, 1992). The location for field trip stops 9 and 10 are shown by numbered dots. Figure 12. Map of the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite (modified from Kistler and others, 1986). Sample Traverses: AB and CD (Bateman and Chappell, 1979) and EC (Kistler, 1974). Asterisks are specimen locations in the Hetch Hetchy quadrangle (Kistler, 1974). All whole-rock isotopic data from specimens along these traverses is summarized in Table 2 (modified from Kistler and others, 1986). Locations of field trip stops 7, 8,12,13,14,15, and 16 are shown by numbered dots. Figure 13.Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron plot for specimens of intrusive suite of Yosemite Valley (El Capitan, Taft, Arch Rock, Hoffman, and Ten Lakes plutons). The specimen of Taft Granite is not included in the isochron regression. Figure 14. Multiple technique and mineral age-profile along traverse AB of Figure 12 except the westernmost data are from sample FD13 at Washburn Point (field trip stop 7). The x~x x line for 40Ar/39Ar on K-feldsparspar plot s the minimum and maximum ages determined during argon release that did not yield a plateau. The central (x) is the calculated total gas age for these minerals. Figure 15. Triangular diagram showing K2<3, Na2O, and CaO in rocks of the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite (modified from Kistler and others, 1986). Chemically coherent fields are indicated for different rock types showing the range of initial ^Sr/^Sr: asterisks (0.7057-0.7061), tonalite of Glacier Point, tonalite of Glen Aulin and granodiorite of Kuna Crest; solid triangles (0.7057- 0.7063), inner and outer parts of the Half Dome Granodiorite; solid squares (0.7064-0.7065), outer part of the Cathedral Peak Granodiorite; open squares (0.7063-0.7064), inner part
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The ANZA-BORREGO DESERT REGION MAP and Many Other California Trail Maps Are Available from Sunbelt Publications. Please See
    SUNBELT WHOLESALE BOOKS AND MAPS CALIFORNIA TRAIL MAPS www.sunbeltpublications.com ANZA-BORREGO DESERT REGION ANZA-BORREGO DESERT REGION MAP 6TH EDITION 3RD EDITION ISBN: 9780899977799 Retail: $21.95 ISBN: 9780899974019 Retail: $9.95 Publisher: WILDERNESS PRESS Publisher: WILDERNESS PRESS AREA: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA The Anza-Borrego and Western Colorado Desert A convenient map to the entire Anza-Borrego Desert Region is a vast, intriguing landscape that harbors a State Park and adjacent areas, including maps for rich variety of desert plants and animals. Prepare for Ocotillo Wells SRVA, Bow Willow Area, and Coyote adventure with this comprehensive guidebooks, Moutnains, it shows roads and hiking trails, diverse providing everything from trail logs and natural history points of interest, and general topography. Trip to a Desert Directory of agencies, accommodations, numbers are keyed to the Anza-Borrego Desert Region and facilities. It is the perfect companion for hikers, guide book by the same authors. campers, off-roaders, mountain bikers, equestrians, history buffs, and casual visitors. The ANZA-BORREGO DESERT REGION MAP and many other California trail maps are available from Sunbelt Publications. Please see the following listing for titles and details. s: catalogs\2018 catalogs\18-CA TRAIL MAPS.doc (800) 626-6579 Fax (619) 258-4916 Page 1 of 7 SUNBELT WHOLESALE BOOKS AND MAPS CALIFORNIA TRAIL MAPS www.sunbeltpublications.com ANGEL ISLAND & ALCATRAZ ISLAND BISHOP PASS TRAIL MAP TRAIL MAP ISBN: 9780991578429 Retail: $10.95 ISBN: 9781877689819 Retail: $4.95 AREA: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA: NORTHERN CALIFORNIA An extremely useful map for all outdoor enthusiasts who These two islands, located in San Francisco Bay are want to experience the Bishop Pass in one handy map.
    [Show full text]
  • Sierra Nevada Framework FEIS Chapter 3
    table of contrents Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment – Part 4.6 4.6. Vascular Plants, Bryophytes, and Fungi4.6. Fungi Introduction Part 3.1 of this chapter describes landscape-scale vegetation patterns. Part 3.2 describes the vegetative structure, function, and composition of old forest ecosystems, while Part 3.3 describes hardwood ecosystems and Part 3.4 describes aquatic, riparian, and meadow ecosystems. This part focuses on botanical diversity in the Sierra Nevada, beginning with an overview of botanical resources and then presenting a more detailed analysis of the rarest elements of the flora, the threatened, endangered, and sensitive (TES) plants. The bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), lichens, and fungi of the Sierra have been little studied in comparison to the vascular flora. In the Pacific Northwest, studies of these groups have received increased attention due to the President’s Northwest Forest Plan. New and valuable scientific data is being revealed, some of which may apply to species in the Sierra Nevada. This section presents an overview of the vascular plant flora, followed by summaries of what is generally known about bryophytes, lichens, and fungi in the Sierra Nevada. Environmental Consequences of the alternatives are only analyzed for the Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive plants, which include vascular plants, several bryophytes, and one species of lichen. 4.6.1. Vascular plants4.6.1. plants The diversity of topography, geology, and elevation in the Sierra Nevada combine to create a remarkably diverse flora (see Section 3.1 for an overview of landscape patterns and vegetation dynamics in the Sierra Nevada). More than half of the approximately 5,000 native vascular plant species in California occur in the Sierra Nevada, despite the fact that the range contains less than 20 percent of the state’s land base (Shevock 1996).
    [Show full text]
  • Gazetteer of Surface Waters of California
    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTI8 SMITH, DIEECTOE WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 296 GAZETTEER OF SURFACE WATERS OF CALIFORNIA PART II. SAN JOAQUIN RIVER BASIN PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OP JOHN C. HOYT BY B. D. WOOD In cooperation with the State Water Commission and the Conservation Commission of the State of California WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1912 NOTE. A complete list of the gaging stations maintained in the San Joaquin River basin from 1888 to July 1, 1912, is presented on pages 100-102. 2 GAZETTEER OF SURFACE WATERS IN SAN JOAQUIN RIYER BASIN, CALIFORNIA. By B. D. WOOD. INTRODUCTION. This gazetteer is the second of a series of reports on the* surf ace waters of California prepared by the United States Geological Survey under cooperative agreement with the State of California as repre­ sented by the State Conservation Commission, George C. Pardee, chairman; Francis Cuttle; and J. P. Baumgartner, and by the State Water Commission, Hiram W. Johnson, governor; Charles D. Marx, chairman; S. C. Graham; Harold T. Powers; and W. F. McClure. Louis R. Glavis is secretary of both commissions. The reports are to be published as Water-Supply Papers 295 to 300 and will bear the fol­ lowing titles: 295. Gazetteer of surface waters of California, Part I, Sacramento River basin. 296. Gazetteer of surface waters of California, Part II, San Joaquin River basin. 297. Gazetteer of surface waters of California, Part III, Great Basin and Pacific coast streams. 298. Water resources of California, Part I, Stream measurements in the Sacramento River basin.
    [Show full text]
  • Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area Land Management Plan
    Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area Land Management Plan PREPARED BY SUSTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL INC FOR THE California Department of Fish and Game North Central Region December 2009 SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY INITIATIVE rptfic'iii Printed on sustainable paper products COVER: Appleton Utopia Forest Stewardship Council certified by Smartwood (a Rainforest Alliance program), ISO 14001 Registered Environmental Management System, EPA SmartWay Transport Partner Interior pages: Navigator Hybrid 85%-100% recycled post consumer waste blended with virgin fiber, Forest Stewarship Council certified chain of custody, ISO 14001 Registered Environmental Management System, 80% energy from renewable resources Divider pages (main body): Domtar Colors Sustainable Forest Initiative fiber sourcing certified, 30% post consumer waste Divider pages (appendices): Hammermill Fore MP 30% post consumer waste PDF VERSION DESIGNED FOR DUPLEX PRINTING State of California The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area Land Management Plan Sierra and Lassen Counties, California UPDATED: DECEMBER 2009 PREPARED FOR: California Department of Fish and Game North Central Region Headquarters 1701 Nimbus Road, Suite A Rancho Cordova, California 95670 Attention: Terri Weist 530.644.5980 PREPARED BY: Sustain Environmental Inc. 3104 "O" Street #164 Sacramento, California 95816 916.457.1856 APPRnvFn RY- Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area Land Management Plan Table of Contents................................................................................................................................................i
    [Show full text]
  • A Visitor's Guide to the Sierra National Forest
    Sierra Traveler A Visitor’s Guide to the Sierra National Forest Photo by Joshua Courter by Joshua Photo Anne Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness - Sierra National Forest What are you interested in doing in the Sierra? Can we help you find what you want to do in the Sierra? Visit Your National Forest! Destinations ......................................................................................................... 2 Sierra National Forest Supervisors Office Camping Guide .................................................................................................. 3 1600 Tollhouse Rd. Clovis, CA 93611 Helpful Hints ........................................................................................................ 4 (559) 297-0706 Merced River Country ...................................................................................... 5 Yosemite South/Highway 41 .......................................................................... 6 High Sierra Ranger District Bass Lake ............................................................................................................... 7 29688 Auberry Rd. Prather, CA 93651 Mammoth Pool Reservoir ............................................................................... 8 (559) 855-5355 San Joaquin River Gorge Management ..................................................... 9 Bass Lake Ranger District Sierra Vista National Scenic Byway ...................................................... 10-12 57003 Road 225 North Fork, CA 93643 Dinkey Creek/McKinley Grove ....................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Resources Overview of the Heinz Ranch, South Parcel (Approximately 1378 Acres) for the Stone Gate Master Planned Community, Washoe County, Nevada
    Cultural Resources Overview of the Heinz Ranch, South Parcel (approximately 1378 acres) for the Stone Gate Master Planned Community, Washoe County, Nevada Project Number: 2016-110-1 Submitted to: Heinz Ranch Company, LLCt 2999 Oak Road, Suite 400 Walnut Creek, CA 94597 Prepared by: Michael Drews Dayna Giambastiani, MA, RPA Great Basin Consulting Group, LLC. 200 Winters Drive Carson City, Nevada 89703 July7, 2016 G-1 Summary Heinz Ranch was established in 1855 by Frank Heinz, an emigrant from Germany, who together with his wife Wilhelmina, turned it into a profitable cow and calf operation (Nevada Department of Agriculture 2016). In 2004, Heinz Ranch received the Nevada Centennial Ranch and Farm award from the Nevada Department of Agriculture for being an active ranch for over 100 years. A Class II archaeological investigation of the property was conducted in May and June 2016. Several prehistoric archaeological sites have been recorded on the property. Habitation sites hold the potential for additional research and have previously been determined eligible to the National Register of Historic Places. Historic sites relating to mining and transportation along with the ranching landscape are also prominent. Architectural resources on the property consist of several barns, outbuildings and residences. The barns are notable for their method of construction. Many are constructed of hand hewn posts and beams, and assembled with pegged mortise and tenon joinery. They date to the earliest use of the ranch. Residences generally date to the 1930s. Historic sites and resources located on Heinz Ranch provide an opportunity for more scholarly research into the prehistory and history of Cold Springs Valley (also Laughton’s Valley) and the region in general.
    [Show full text]
  • HISTORY of WASHOE COUNTY Introduction
    HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY Introduction Lying in the northwest portion of the State of Nevada, named for a tribe of American Indians and containing a land area in excess of 6,000 square miles, Washoe County today consists of two of the nine original counties -- Washoe and Lake (later renamed Roop) Counties -- into which the Territory of Nevada was divided by the first territorial legislature in 1861. The country, "a land of contrasts, extremes, and apparent contradictions, of mingled barrenness and fertility, beauty and desolation, aridity and storm,"1 was claimed by the Spanish Empire until 1822 when it became a part of Mexican territory resulting from Mexico's successful war of independence from Spain. Mexico ceded the area to the United States in 1848 following the Mexican War, and the ceded lands remained part of the "unorganized territory" of the United States until 1850. Spanish and Mexican constructive possession probably had little effect on the life styles of the Northern Paiutes and the Washos -- the two American Indian tribes which inhabited the area. The Northern Paiutes ranged over most of Washoe County2 save the series of valleys lying along the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada. These valleys were the domain of the Washos, a small, nomadic tribe whose members spoke an alien tongue and from which the name of the county is derived3. The 1840's During the 1840's Washoe County was traversed by a number of trappers and explorers, as well as several well-defined emigrant trails leading to California and Oregon. In 1843 mountain man "Old Bill" Williams4 led his trappers from the Klamath Lake region of California to Pyramid Lake and the Truckee River.
    [Show full text]
  • John Theodore Buchholz
    Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany Volume 30 | Issue 1 Article 3 2012 John Theodore Buchholz (1888-1951) Studying Conifers in California, Especially Sequoiadendron and Sequoia (Cupressaceae) in 1936 Rudolf Schmid University of California, Berkeley Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/aliso Recommended Citation Schmid, Rudolf (2012) "John Theodore Buchholz (1888-1951) Studying Conifers in California, Especially Sequoiadendron and Sequoia (Cupressaceae) in 1936," Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany: Vol. 30: Iss. 1, Article 3. Available at: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/aliso/vol30/iss1/3 Aliso, 30(1), pp. 5–17 ’ 2012, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden JOHN THEODORE BUCHHOLZ (1888–1951) STUDYING CONIFERS IN CALIFORNIA, ESPECIALLY SEQUOIADENDRON AND SEQUOIA (CUPRESSACEAE) IN 1936 RUDOLF SCHMID1 1Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3140, USA ([email protected]) ABSTRACT Biographical details are given for John Theodore Buchholz (1888–1951), including his interest in conifers of California and New Caledonia. Buchholz made detailed studies of the vegetative morphology, reproductive morphology, and embryology of Sequoiadendron giganteum and Sequoia sempervirens prior to his 1939 segregation of Sequoiadendron from Sequoia. Buchholz, a professor at the University of Illinois (1929–1951), spent spring and summer of his 1936 sabbatical in California. Description of Buchholz’s technique for morphological collections provides
    [Show full text]
  • Chronology of Emplacement of Mesozoic Batholithic Complexes in California and Western Nevada by J
    Chronology of Emplacement of Mesozoic Batholithic Complexes In California and Western Nevada By J. F. EVERNDEN and R. W. KISTLER GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 623 Prepared in cooperation with the University of California (Berkeley) Department of Geological Sciences UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1970 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR WALTER J. HICKEL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William T. Pecora, Director Library of Con;gress CSJtalog-card No. 7s-.60.38'60 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $1.25 (paper cover) CONTENTS Page Abstract-------------------------------~---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------------------~----------------- 1 Analyt:cal problems ____________________ -._______________________________________________________________________ 2 Analytical procedures______________________________________________________________________________________ 2 Precision and accuracy ___________________ -.- __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2 Potassium determinations_______________________________________________________________________________ · 2 Argon determinations--------~------------------~------------------------------------------------------ 5 Chemical and crystallographic effects on potassium-argon ages----------.-----------------------------------------
    [Show full text]
  • The Beckwourth Emigrant Trail: Using Historical Accounts to Guide Archaeological Fieldwork in the Plumas National Forest
    THE BECKWOURTH EMIGRANT TRAIL: USING HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS TO GUIDE ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELDWORK IN THE PLUMAS NATIONAL FOREST ANGEL MORGAN LASSEN NATIONAL FOREST, ALMANOR RANGER DISTRICT KAREN MITCHELL PLUMAS NATIONAL FOREST, FEATHER RIVER RANGER DISTRICT The Beckwourth Emigrant Trail Project was created by the Forest Service for the purpose of composing a detailed and comprehensive site record that was done by archaeologists. In 1851, James Beckwourth built the wagon road to accommodate travelers in search of gold. It ran from Sparks, Nevada to Bidwell’s Bar, California. Historical General Land Office (GLO) maps and survey notes were used in conjunction with Andrew Hammond’s field maps to identify trail segments. The segments were located and compared with historialc documentation of the trail’s route. This paper will juxtapose the approximate location of the trail according to the historical documentation with the segments located in the field, categorized according to Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA) standards for trail classification. From 1851 to 1855 the Beckwourth Emigrant Trail was the favored route for those seeking their fortune in the California gold rush. The wagon trail proved effective in getting these travelers over the Sierra Nevada mountain pass and into gold country, despite its extremely difficult route. When the railroad displaced the wagon routes into California, the trail fell into disuse. In 2009, Forest Service archaeologists from the Feather River Ranger District, in partnership with Mt. Hough Ranger District in Plumas National Forest planned to use historical accounts and maps to locate and record existing segments of the trail, beginning the first formal recordation of the Beckwourth Emigrant Trail.
    [Show full text]
  • Meadows in the Sierra Nevada of California: State of Knowledge
    Figure 7―Meadow series vegetated mar- gin (A), montane (B), slope (B), hanging (B), and tinkers penny (N) in McKinley Grove, Kings River Ranger District, Sierra National Forest. Figure 8―Meadow series vegetated mar- gin (A), montane (B), basin (A), sunken- concave (F), and slender spikerush (L) near Clover Meadow, Minarets Ranger District, Sierra National Forest. subalpine belt, and is in a basin. An intermittent stream short-hair sedge. On the more moist side, sites of this series meanders the length and is tributary to Delaney Creek, which tend to have more shorthair. The caespitose grasses form passes through the lower reaches of the meadow. large bunches, which account for much of the 12 percent The hydrologic series of the site is normal. It receives water cover of higher plants. Litter covers 77 percent of the surface. from upslope in the spring. Soil texture at the site is a sandy Alpine aster (Aster alpigenus) and Sierra bilberry are the two loam with pH 4.9. The water table in mid-July was at a depth next most important species. of 78 cm. At that depth, a layer of coarse sand appears to serve A meadow in the McKinley Grove of Sequoias on the as an aquifer carrying water under the meadow. Shorthair is Kings River Ranger District, Sierra National Forest, contains the vegetative series of the site. Shorthair and Sierra ricegrass a fine example of series A-B-B-B-N (fig. 7). The meadow has (Oryzopsis kingii) make up 36 percent of the composition. On vegetated margins, lies at 6,480 ft (1,975 m) in the montane this site, however, Sierra ricegrass is the main species.
    [Show full text]
  • Comments on DEIS Volume 2, Appendix C: Wild and Scenic Rivers Evaluation for the Inyo, Sequoia, and Sierra National Forests
    Exhibit VIII.1-1 Comments on DEIS Volume 2, Appendix C: Wild and Scenic Rivers Evaluation for the Inyo, Sequoia, and Sierra National Forests General Comments on Evaluation Process The Forest Service deserves recognition for conducting a comprehensive evaluation of potential Wild & Scenic Rivers (WSRs) in the Forest Plans Revision (FPR) process. We appreciate that the agency incorporated its previously completed inventories, eligibility findings, and suitability recommendations. We also greatly appreciate that the Inyo and Sierra Forests determined additional streams to be eligible. However, we identified a number of problems with Appendix C that require attention – not the least of which is the Sequoia Forest’s dismal (in comparison to the Inyo and Sierra) inventory and evaluation results, which failed to identify any new eligible stream segments. We also appreciated the opportunity to review and comment on the preliminary inventory and evaluation in February 2016. However, we are disappointed to find that few of the points raised in our 26 pages of detailed comments were addressed in Appendix C. So these comments are somewhat duplicative to the ones submitted by CalWild et al dated Feb. 1, 2016, which are hereby incorporate by reference. Be advised that new additional points are included in these comments. WSR Inventory/Evaluation Comments Applicable To All Three Forests Unnamed Streams Not Inventoried (DEIS Vol. 2, App. C, pg. 379) – The inventory process appears to be restricted to rivers and streams named on 7.5-minute USGS quad maps. There is nothing in the Forest Service Handbook (FSH), federal guidelines, or in federal law that limits WSR inventories and evaluations to only named streams.
    [Show full text]